


Yoo Again

by ReeLeeV



Series: MX Request Forum Works [66]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Fluff, M/M, Post-Divorce, Single Parents, Teacher-Student Relationship, changki rise, childhood crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-07 22:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13444635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReeLeeV/pseuds/ReeLeeV
Summary: There's many things for Changkyun to worry about on his first day of college classes. What if he can't find his classes? What if his professors are all hard asses? What if he ends this semester as a huge failure and can't succeed at anything in life ever??? But, it had never occurred to him to worry about a particular boyhood crush, until it was too late.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [MBBReqSpot](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/MBBReqSpot) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Kihyun was a neighbor Changkyun was in love with since he was kid but he left after he finished High school. Changkyun found him again as his divorced teacher with a little kid + Domestic/college Au

"Dude, you'll be fine," Jooheon assures his dongsaeng, clapping the boy on the shoulder as they near the looming class building. Four stories of nothing but classrooms, computer labs, and the occasional bathroom. The red-bricked structure blocks out the sun behind it due to its height, and the darkened windows stare down at the two boys with a judging gaze.

Or, at least, that's how it feels for Changkyun. He glances over to his friend and roommate, chewing anxiously on his bottom lip. 

"H-How do you know, hyung?" Changkyun can't help but ask. His wider-than-usual eyes shine frantically, and Jooheon can't help but sigh.

"You graduated valedictorian of your class, Kyunnie," Jooheon tells him, his tone unamused. "Even if the professor doesn't like you personally, he'll respect you because of how well you'll do in the class. That's how it is, sometimes."

"But—"

"No buts," Jooheon interrupts, giving the boy a shove towards the building. "Now go on, I'll meet you back at the dorm after. It's your last class, right?" Changkyun nods, licking his lips as he stumbles about. He grips the strap of his messenger back with a death-grip, his knuckles turning white as he nods numbly.

He's had two classes today already, but this was the one he's been worried about ever since he signed up for the class. This Professor Yoo has a reputation for being incredibly difficult. It's a higher-level course, so difficulty is to be expected... It just doesn't set his mind at ease considering it  _is_ his first semester and all. He has a leg up since it's English, a language he learned the basics of when he was young, but after some of the stories he's heard... Well, suffice it to say he feels as if he's about to either throw up or have a heart attack, maybe even both.

"Good, we can grab lunch, and you can tell me all about how I was right." Jooheon chuckles behind him at his own words, his hand squeezing the younger's shoulder once, firmly, before he starts off in the direction of his own class. 

Changkyun gulps loudly around the ball of stress in his throat, draws in a steadying breath, and walks on wobbly knees towards the building.

After walking up all the stairs to the top floor, hoping to somehow work through his nerves via some physical exertion, but it doesn't work. So now, here he is, walking into the last class of the day looking an absolute mess, heaving air into his lungs with jelly-like legs carrying him. Luckily, he's still a bit early, and there's barely anyone in the room to witness his personal tragedy.

He weaves his way through the haphazardly-placed desks, as he'd entered in the back of the room, to sit in the front. He wants to leave a good impression on the professor, to show him he means business. Sitting in the front will do just that.

The first-year takes out his laptop and opens it, having at least twenty minutes to kill. Maybe some songwriting will sufficiently calm him by the time everyone arrives...

This proves to be good in theory, but awful in practice as he becomes so absorbed in the task that he doesn't realize as people begin filtering in... including the professor himself.

A stern, clear clap of hands jolts Changkyun out of his focus, and he glances up with frightened eyes. He sucks in a breath at the man standing in front of the room, the almost playful smirk quirking up his lips.

He's years older, obviously not the boy he used to be, but there's no mistaking those dimples set in his cheeks, the eyes glittering behind the man's glasses.

 _Kihyun_... 

Changkyun had never known his family's name, as there had been such an age difference between them back then. Well, technically it's still there, but that's beside the point. 

After moving to Korea from living abroad, his family had moved into a cute little house on a tiny little street. There had been a boy next door, Kihyun. He'd been a bit chubby, with glasses practically glued to his face. He'd go around caroling with the local church every year, which had been the most interaction Changkyun would ever have with his eight-year-older neighbor, but that was no matter. It'd been enough for the younger to become completely mystified with the boy.

Nothing had ever come of the crush, as Changkyun had been sure that it was one-sided. Kihyun had moved off to go to college, and Changkyun had done his best to push thoughts of the younger from his mind. He'd eventually moved on, dating a girl here and there throughout his adolescence until he realized he was quite too gay for that shit. However, memories of the boy had never managed to fully leave the younger's mind, constantly being in the back of his mind, whispering to him sweet nothings at night and being that wonderful what-if of his youth.

Now, this what-if is staring at him, amusement sparkling in his eyes. Changkyun grows petrified, frozen in his seat as the man struts towards him, looking absolutely divine in his simple yet elegant suit. The first-year's mouth goes dry, his eyes growing wide with each step the older takes. 

He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the simple action making Changkyun's heart claw up his throat. Kihyun—no, Professor Yoo—offers forward a piece of paper. Changkyun looks down at it dumbly, his mind going a million miles a second.

His panic subsides, however, at seeing it's just the roll.

"Start passing this around, would you?" the man asks, a brow rising up promptingly. 

Changkyun can't physically nod any faster as he hastily takes the paper, scribbles his own initials next to his name, and haphazardly passes it to the person behind him. Kihyun walks away, towards the podium at the corner of the room, and turns on the overhead projector. He immediately begins going over the syllabus and objectives of the course, and Changkyun practically trips over himself as he puts away his laptop.

He does his best to ignore the way his heart palpitates off-beat in his chest, the way his palms begin to sweat.

God, this class is going to be a living hell...


	2. Chapter 2

Changkyun bolts out of there at the end of class faster than a strike of lightning. He scrambles out before anyone else even stands, shoving what little is out of his bag back in and panting by the time he’s out of the building.

“Whoa there!” a familiar voice says, stopping Changkyun from tripping up on the stairs outside leading down to the brickway. He blinks repeatedly, staring at his roommate with his lips pressed together in a thin line. Jooheon’s brow creases, and he reaches out to touch Changkyun’s arm, concern ebbing off his features. 

“What’s wrong, Kkungie...?”

Changkyun shakes his head, looking back to the building, almost as if expecting his professor to be standing there. His heart pounds, and he can only sigh at himself in annoyance when there’s no one there. He knows he’s only being dramatic, but he can’t help it! How else is he supposed to react when he sees his crush from his childhood looking as perfect as ever and finds out said crush is actually his professor?

Jooheon pouts, his lips poking out in dismay as he glances around. 

“Come on,” he says, gently pulling Changkyun along. Changkyun obediently goes along, keeping his head down as if scared to meet anyone’s eyes. 

Unbeknownst to them, a man watches them from an upstairs window, his gaze twinkling with underlying recognition as the boy from his past is led away.

 

Changkyun makes it through the line faster than Jooheon, opting for a ramen and heating it in the microwave before his roommate even gets done choosing his food for the day. He sits down at a table, forlornly stirring the noodles around. 

He doesn’t know why he feels this way. The class didn’t go badly at all, not really. Kihyun—no, Professor Yoo—didn’t give any indication that he recognized the freshman, and really it’s for the best. The last thing Changkyun needs is to get into some unseemly scandal with the hardest professor on the campus. There’s no way he could hide that kind of thing from his parents, and they’d absolutely freak out when they found out.

His mom is stressed enough about him going off to live on his own for the first time, he doesn’t want to add more stress onto her by getting into an illicit relationship with a professor.

Besides, he knows he was never an important part of Kihyun’s life back when they were kids. There was such a big age gap between them, that he only ever saw the boy in passing… But, Kihyun was always so kind to him, would always give him that trademark smile that could light up an entire solar system. That smile… It would just make everything easier for Changkyun to bear in his childhood. All the school stress, all the typical angst, none of it was stronger than Kihyun’s smile.

Jooheon slumps over, slinging his back down with a loud  _ thump _ in the free chair to the side and shaking Changkyun from his thoughts.

“You told your mom you’d eat something other than ramen once in a while,” Jooheon jokingly chastises, prodding at the paper bowl with the prongs of his fork. He pops open his own container, an aluminum dish filled with noodles and cream sauce and seafood, and starts to dig in. Changkyun hums noncommittally, glancing back down to his own measly soup. He isn’t even that hungry, not really.

He just can’t figure out why, despite it being entirely logical, why  _ Professor Yoo  _ hadn’t remembered him.

“I guess this has to do with your last class,” Jooheon correctly observes, eyeing Changkyun up and down skeptically. Changkyun goes rigid at this, not liking the fact that he’s so easily being called out. Jooheon humphs, pressing his lips together tightly enough to bare his dimples.

“Was the professor  _ that  _ hard on you on the first day?”

Changkyun shakes his head, slumping down in his chair as he drops his chopsticks. He doesn’t particularly want to tell anyone, because he knows it’s all just something in his head anyway, but he feels like he  _ needs  _ to. Maybe Jooheon can make sense of Changkyun’s feelings for him.

“I uh… I know that professor… Yoo,” Changkyun begins, looking everywhere but the intrigued brow raise coming from his roommate. “He grew up next door to me. I didn’t realize it was him when I signed up… Maybe if I did, I wouldn’t have taken the class.” He wipes at his face, downtrodden.

“Did you two… have some weird relationship, or something? ‘Cause, I mean, he’s a professor. He’s got to be  _ way  _ older!”

“He’s only eight years older,” Changkyun defends, pouting at the boy. He puffs up his cheeks defiantly, earning a light chuckle from Jooheon. The other boy raises his hands in defense before gesturing for Changkyun to go on.

“We never talked much, but I had a really bad crush on him growing up… When he went away to college, I cried for, like, a whole week!”

“Dude, why did you never tell me about this??” Jooheon questions, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’ve been best friends since high school.”

“I didn’t want you thinking I was weird…” Changkyun admits, sheepish. “I mean, what’s more pathetic than a freshman pining away after a college kid that never even gave him the time of day in the first place??” Changkyun feels like a fool for even letting it get to him now… He’d thought he had finally moved passed it all, but apparently, he was wrong.

“Okay well… why is it bothering you now?” Jooheon prods, watching Changkyun with sympathy in his small eyes. Changkyun huffs out an annoyed sigh, shrugging.

“I don’t know... “ he admits, frowning in frustration. “He  _ obviously  _ doesn’t remember me, from how he acted during class.”

“How’d he act?”

“Like I was any other student!”

“Okay, okay,” Jooheon chuckles, glancing around. A couple people look over to their small table in annoyance at Changkyun’s outburst, though they quickly look back to what they’re doing. Jooheon sighs, shaking his head.

“Bro,” he says, stuffing his mouth full of food, “follow his lead and  _ don’t _ dig anything up. The last thing you need right now is to get into some raunchy affair that’ll get put into all the newspapers. Your life will become a country song before you know it if that happens!”

Changkyun sighs melodramatically, looking off into the distance, consequently in the general direction of the class building he’d just left.

“Hyung, my life is already a country song…” he says softly. “I mean, it  _ is _ the music of heartbreak…”


End file.
